The present invention relates to an electronic device and method for the treatment of stuttering.
Speech pathologists have long been concerned with the treatment of stuttering. Prior art devices utilize a concept known as delayed auditory feedback (DAF) to aid an individual suffering from stuttering. As an example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,421,488 shows a stuttering aid which includes a microphone, an amplifier, two earphones and two circuits connecting the earphones to an amplifier. One of the two circuits includes a delay unit and the amount of time delay is adjustable.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,464,119 describes a known DAF system for correcting speech. U.S. Pat. No. 3,566,858 shows a device which uses noise masking techniques to combat stuttering and includes a microphone which is selectively responsive to the patient's voice. U.S. Pat. No. 4,143,648 shows a speech therapy device which includes a patient responsive feedback circuit and time delay circuit to detect voice and speech levels.
While the prior art approaches described above are of some aid to the speech pathologist in the treatment of stuttering, there is a need for an improved electronic device and method for the treatment of stuttering.